Shohreh Bayat warned after images circulated appearing to show her without a headscarf at Shanghai tournamentA chess referee from Iran has fled to the UK after being warned that she could be arrested for being in breach of Iran’s strict dress codes during an international tournament in China.Shohreh Bayat, 32, has sought asylum in Britain after a photograph of her at the women’s world chess championships in Shanghai last month was circulated on social media. It appeared to show her without a headscarf, although she has insisted the scarf was in place but loose over her hair. Continue reading...

Critics say female Muslim travellers have been targeted. An out-of-court settlement suggests they are rightPolice have...

Critics say female Muslim travellers have been targeted. An out-of-court settlement suggests they are rightPolice have admitted that forcing Muslim women to remove their headscarves at UK airports could be unlawful, a practice likened by one victim to being made “to remove her top”.In an out-of-court settlement, the Metropolitan Police has conceded that when it coerced a woman to take off her hijab so officers could photograph her, it was a breach of her human rights and violated the woman’s right to religious observance. Continue reading...

Society often associates femininity with long, flowing locks – but a growing number of women are...

Society often associates femininity with long, flowing locks – but a growing number of women are choosing to celebrate their baldnessBarbara Williams didn’t get married just to change her name – of course not. But the opportunity to have a new surname was certainly an attractive proposition. Williams has had trichotillomania, a condition that causes her to pull out her hair compulsively, since she was nine – and her original name was Balde. Well, it wasn’t ideal.A 63-year-old picture framer from Warwickshire, Williams believes that her trichotillomania was triggered by the stress of her mother leaving the family home. She would lie awake at night and tug out great handfuls of hair, before rolling it up into a ball and hiding it behind the bed. By her 30s, she was totally bald. “It was just awful,” she sighs. “I couldn’t even watch shampoo adverts on the television. There would be a horrible feeling in my chest.” Continue reading...